Intended for Security,
Web Cams Become
Popular Snooping Tool

By

Kevin J. Delaney Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated Feb. 2, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

As popular Internet search engines have become more powerful and sophisticated, it has become possible to find everything from the author of an arcane research paper to the whereabouts of a high-school classmate in seconds. But, in an unintended twist, the technology also has made it much easier to snoop on private scenes in homes and companies.

Web surfers increasingly are finding ways to view images from security cameras and other live video sources, some of which weren't meant for public viewing. The footage ranges from...